Eighteen months after losing a close race for governor, Republican Chris Dudley said Saturday that he and his family will soon leave Oregon and move to the San Diego area.

Dudley said his wife, also named Chris, has a business opportunity in Southern California, which he declined to name, that he wants her to be able to pursue. He also said the move comes after he decided not to run for office again.

"She's been following my lead for 15 years whether it's through the NBA or having your husband run for governor," said Dudley, a financial adviser and former professional basketball player. "And I want to follow what makes sense for my wife and my family."

Although he had never run for public office before, Dudley, 47, came within 1.5 percentage points of beating Democrat John Kitzhaber in the 2010 race for governor. It was the closest any Republican had come in the last seven gubernatorial elections, all of which have been won by Democrats.

Dudley, who has lived in Lake Oswego since 2003, was urged to run for several offices this year, ranging from Congress to the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners. He turned them all down and said he "seems to be" done with his short political career.

"There's probably as many disappointed Republicans in Oregon as there are relieved Democrats," said Dan Lavey, a Portland consultant and close political adviser to Dudley, "but Chris is a person who puts his family first and that's what he's doing with this."

Dudley's wife frequently campaigned with him and was skilled at interacting with voters around the state. But friends said she took his loss hard and was reluctant to see him run again.

Dudley said he would maintain a residence in the Portland area and would continue to travel here frequently to continue his involvement in several local charitable and civic activities. He said the Chris Dudley Foundation, formed to combat diabetes, will continue to be headquartered in the state and will still operate his summer basketball camp for kids with diabetes in Vernonia. He also will stay on several local boards, including ones involved with the Oregon chapter of Stand for Children, Self Enhancement, Inc. and the Harold Schnitzer Diabetes Health Center at Oregon Health & Science University.

Dudley said he and his wife have bought a home just north of San Diego, where he had lived during his teenage years, and will move there after his three children finish the school year. He said he would continue to work for Lake Oswego-based Filigree Advisors, which has several clients in Southern California.

A Yale graduate, Dudley was the first player diagnosed as diabetic to play in the NBA, where he lasted for 16 seasons, including two stints with the Trail Blazers.

After working as a financial adviser, he ran for governor in 2010 as a staunch supporter of making Oregon friendlier for business and of revamping the state's education system. He raised more than $10 million for his campaign, about $3 million more than Kitzhaber, but also was hampered by his own inexperience. He was criticized for agreeing to just one debate with Kitzhaber and for making remarks that suggested he supported reducing the minimum wage.

Dudley first announced this move in a post to friends on his Facebook page.

"Like any big life-change, we have mixed emotions about our decisions," Dudley said in his post, adding that "we have no intention of letting a few miles lose the friendships we've built with so many of you over the years."